During game one the air conditioning at the AT@T Center is San Antonio was not functioning. When the television cameras showed shots of the crowd you saw hundreds of people fanning themselves. On the court the scoreboard and the pace of play did not have any apparent effect as the Heat held a 4 point lead. Soon thereafter Lebron James cramped up for the first time and exited the game briefly, he then returned to score on a drive to the hoop and then feeling intense cramps that knocked him out of the game. A 36-17 fourth quarter led to a convincing 110-95 win and a 1-0 lead in the series. While all of the players admitted the circumstances were tough to deal with, James was the only player to have been knocked out of the game. Overall the Heat were outscored by 15 with James on the bench.
The Spurs had an amazing fourth quarter in which the shot 14-16 from the floor including 6-6 from the three point line, often uncontested. Tim Duncan had a vintage performance with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Parker had 19 points and 8 assists while showing no ill effects from the sprained ankle he suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals clinching game 6. Danny Green carried over his success from last years finals finishing with 13 points including 3 three pointers. Tiago Splitter had his best offensive performance of the playoffs with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Boris Diaw only scored 2 points in his 33 minutes but he played a spectacular game overall with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Manu Ginobili continued his great playoff run with 16 points, 5 rebounds and a ridiculous 11 assists in his playoff high 32 minutes. Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili played like the playoff veterans they are and continued to defy father time.
James finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in only 33 minutes. Chris Bosh had 18 points and 9 rebounds. Dwayne Wade scored 19 points, however the Heat did not make him the primary option on offense when James went down. There were far too many possessions where he does not touch the ball at all. Rashard Lewis continued to start and ended up with 10 points. Ray Allen finished with 16 points including 3 three pointers and a thunderous dunk in the midst of a Miami run. Both Miami point guards (Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers) were alarmingly ineffective.
There have been several events in the arena since game one and the air conditioning has worked so it is not expected to be a factor in game 2. All eyes will be on James and his physical state. He received a lot of unjust criticism after game 1 and he will be playing with a chip on his shoulders. That is not good new for the Spurs.